AFA Intermission: Reflections
by Analogk37
Summary: [Repost][Continuation of 'Another Fortunate Accident'] One of the Knight Sabers tries to drink her sorrows away... one 'knightmare' at a time. [Continued in 'Falling from Grace']
1. Part 1

AFA 2 – Falling From Grace

Reflections - pt 1

by Analogk37

_So much I want to remember… _

…_too much I can't forget..._

Sitting in the sand, the woman pulled off the first can from one of the two six-packs shoved into the sand next to her. She thoughtlessly popped the top and began to guzzle in earnest. Tilting her head as far back as she could without falling; the haphazardly dressed loner emptied the contents in one shot, tossing the used shell to the side and pulling another from the pack. She paused this time to consider what she was trying to accomplish with this futile gesture. She discovered a simmering torch of angst flickering in the back of her mind, her ripped open heart acknowledged the embers with its slow, steady throb.

Opening the virgin beverage, her arm rose to the sky in a toast to the heavens… "This one's for you Gin… I hope you're resting peacefully… wherever you are…" Chugging down the alcoholic mixture just as quickly as the one previous, the brown-haired woman stood up from the beach and glared into the menacing behemoth in the distance. A burning fire of revenge grew behind her pale, violet eyes; stoked by coals made from images of butchery and death. Crumpling the can between her hands, a cry born from a lost love pierced the heavy air as the woman heaved the aluminum ball as far as her rage would fly towards the dark specter rising up into the night. She fell forward into the sand, landing hard on her hands and knees. The echoes of her rage bounced back from silent centerpiece of Tokyo bay, drowning out the sound of the lone splash in the otherwise silent waters.

Drops of bittersweet recollection fell onto wet sand between shaking arms, memories of the other who had given so much to her… but who she had inadvertently scorned in the end. Her heart torn between the past and the present, not able to let go fast enough… or was it she couldn't grab hold quick enough? Not that it mattered now… there wasn't anything left to reach for. A life taken away by the blitzkrieg of live metal stalking the streets of Tokyo… the army she herself had let loose upon the unsuspecting city, now barren of life except for the few who remained in the park she now rest in herself.

The tidal motion of the vast ocean swept a mirror slowly through the woman's hands, the barely recognizable face of someone named Linna Yamazaki reflected back into the woman's eyes, a shadow of who she had been just a few months ago. So much change had influenced her being since coming to Tokyo the first time… working at Hugh Geit, 'meeting' Priss the first time, joining the Knight Sabers, meeting Masaki, the accident…

_So much I want to remember… _

…_too much I can't forget..._

Collapsing back with her legs folded on either side of her hips, Linna's arms lay dead at her sides, eyes closed from the swirling patterns of her mind. The images of the past circling around her present state of isolation… _… still hurts too much even to think… _Opening her eyes, the reformed country girl grabbed another beer and began to gulp it down to lock in the numbness beginning to comfort her beaten soul. Unable to finish this one in a single try, she lowered the can and surveyed her surroundings. A soft green glow spread out over the clear liquid of the harbor surrounding the desolate Genom tower, bathing everything around it in the unnatural light, transforming even the nature preserve into a haunting neon jungle. The green glow… the green… more memories… more reflections… the madness… the infecting madness corrupting her first love into the most hated person on the planet…

Memories of the attack at the Silky Doll… coming back to Tokyo to help Nene and Sylia find the child-god … Meeting Nene in front of the store… greeting a surprised Sylia… finding out Priss was coming… then, an assault… verbal, at first… then physical… then Sylia knocked to the ground… followed by Nene's body limply sinking to the floor under Priss' crushing blow.

…_too much I can't forget..._

Recalling the fight caused Linna to mindlessly rub the scars that marred her sunken belly. The jagged marks were left uncovered by the scant clothing available since her real clothes lay in the now destroyed pit of the Lady 633 building, the former home base for the Knight Sabers. The last departing sight of the reflecting structure was of it's formerly pristine surface vandalized by vines of organic metal, a giant root of the territorial Dragonline thrusting up through the middle of their operational center… a symbol perhaps of the last remaining resistance to Galatea's rule impaled onto her stake of control.

…_too much I can't forget..._

Reaching for yet another of the mental erasers in the sand, the woman brought it to her lips and attempted to drink her sorrow away once more. However, as her head tipped back, her mind spun as another memory flew by on the carousel of her past… the laughter, the maniacal laughter of her insane teammate, gloating over her fallen, trapped body… pinned under the debris in the earthquake ruins just above what she later learned were the remains of the WizLab… the birthplace of Galetea…

…_too much I can't forget..._

Linna soon found herself drinking from a very empty can, eyes fixed on the new residence of the child-god, shining her signature hue into the absorbing sky around the tower. Littering the trash onto the beach, she pulled another beer from the dwindling pack and began sucking on it in earnest. The hum of the drug-induced buzz grew in the back of her consciousness… but not quickly enough to cover up the crying reflections, cries in the darkness of the aftermath… Nene's sobbing voice, calling out to the unconscious Mackey… Priss' mental groans of agony… Sylia's pleading voice calling to it… to her… to Galetea… then Mason's boasting voice…

"Thank you so very much ladies for assisting me in this endeavor. I'm sure the citizens in Tokyo will now be forever in your debt… or perhaps it shall in fact turn out the other way around…"

…_too much I can't forget..._

The stabbing realization of exactly what the corrupt executive meant ripped at Linna's heart even more now… all the dead bodies that hadn't escaped the child-god's 'playtime' exercises… their haunting souls screaming in dreams of live metal fields filled with rail-like thorns… images forever burned in Linna's mind… along with one soul who rested very close to her heart… _Why Gin… Why didn't you leave sooner… why didn't I ask you to stay… You didn't have to die, not there, not like that… _More questions begged for answers from Linna's tortured mind. _Why didn't I listen to Mackey… why didn't I go find Priss… Would it have made a difference?… Maybe I could have helped her… Maybe I could have comforted her… Maybe then I could have stopped Galatea… Maybe… maybe Gin would still be alive… maybe all the thousands… the millions… would still be alive… maybe Tokyo would've been spared this time… maybe… _A daydream of her green hardsuit spinning through the caves, towards the cocoon replayed itself from the depth of her regrets… an image of ribbons slicing through the metal incubator… battling against the glimmering evil within… fighting with strength beyond strength… toughness borne from future knowledge not yet gained… images of cutting the budding evil down at the root… the madness stopped… the threat defeated… everyone alive… all good…

Linna opened her misty eyes to shatter the illusion of her dreams, facing the reality of their failure… her failure… she had found it… not Sylia… not Nene… not even Priss… she had. She had found it and led everyone else to it. No matter what the rest of the Knight Sabers, her parents, or even Ginger had tried to convince her; it was still her fault. She had pointed the way and then promptly become it's first insane victim through the uncontrollable actions of Priss… _I should have known… my heart knew… why didn't I listen… _

More memories of the aftermath flowed from her regret laden heart… Leon's resentful eyes tearing into Linna as she held the fallen singer in her lap… nearly ripping Priss from her trembling arms… lifting her up… carrying her off… away into the tunnels… "Priss? Priss!" unanswered cries echoing back into the chamber of evil around us.

…_too much I can't forget..._

Nene's persistent cries eventually snapping the focus back to the task… dragging the Stingray's to the surface… back to the pit… hours… it must have taken hours… collapsing in the building… Henderson's worried voice beckoning Linna to get up… waking in a guest bedroom much later… body still wracked with pain… finding Nene with Nigel and Mackey… Sylia's distant expression of empty failure… so much loss… so much pain… wondering, worried about Priss… Priss… _Priss… _"What can we do now?"

Calling home… parents distraught… "Please come home, please Linna…"

"But I can't mom, we… we still need to stop it," the conscious answers for a beaten soul.

"How can you! You just said… the hardsuits… the others…"

"I don't know mom… I just don't know…"

Wondering the streets of Tokyo… passing Priss' vacant trailer several times… asking Nene…

"I don't know… maybe, try Leon's apartment," she suggested, even though still distracted with Mackey's recovery… their love still intact… still surviving… understanding, forgiveness, unconditional acceptance…

Eventually finding the apartment… abdomen still aching… heart pounding… knocking on the door… footsteps… a voice…

"Who's there?" Priss' voice…

Unable to answer… the door opening anyway… her bloodshot eyes meeting distraught, apologetic ones… a distinct flash in her brown eyes… not hate, not anger, but… sorrow, regret… then, behind her…

"Who is it?" Leon's face appearing above her… "You! Get the Hell out… Leave Priss alone!"

Door slamming… brief barely audible arguing, then silence… waiting, knocking again… still waiting… nothing…

…_too much I can't forget..._

Pulling off the last of the beverages from the first six-pack, the woman popped the top and paused. Memories playing back in her mind distracted her from the task at hand, not because they reminded her of her life, but because they were someone else's memories…

Walking the streets afterwards, listless, lost… lingering regrets weighing down the sunken heart… then a mental flash, pain, agony… scenes from a horror movie projecting through the consciousness… images of a little girl… a lab… experiments… successes… failures… death… _Sylia… _

Sprinting to the Lady 633 building despite the fire still burning in the midsection… bolting into the lounge… Sylia with the maddening green glow in her chest… Nene, Mackey, Henderson all there… hovering over the fallen leader… the door opening again… Priss, followed closely by Leon, walking over to Sylia… keeling down… Priss holding Sylia's hand… bonding with Sylia almost as if she could directly relate to the stricken woman's suffering…

All the emotions of seeing Priss again, a caring Priss, the understanding Priss… it opened the floodgates from Linna's heart once more… and another wave crashed through her while sitting on the beach… even weeks after the actual event…

_So much I want to remember…_

More recollections returned of trying to rise up off of the couch to go to her side, but being stopped by a hand on the shoulder… following the hand to look up into the disapproving eyes of Leon… jerking away from his unwelcome touch, but… recognizing the concern in his own eyes… realizing the need to let the two women work alone and focused on the task… fighting against whatever was hurting Sylia… both women concentrating inwardly, ignoring all others in the room… then, finally the glow dying out, Sylia's suffering groans ceasing… Priss gathering the recovering woman into a welcome embrace… a combined sigh released across the whole lounge.

Memories of the discussion afterwards refreshed themselves in Linna's mind… answers… answers to questions she hadn't even thought to ask… Sylia telling all... speculating about a mental link… hardsuit functionalities… and the cold truth… the hardsuits were simply boomers… mindless boomers… Priss' angry reaction, her face paling even as the accusations flew from her mouth… then, more answers… the past of the Knight Sabers… the two former members… then further into Sylia's past… Galatea, Mackey… and the horrid truth of what Sylia's father had done to her… so much explained… so much to absorb…

_So much I want to remember… _

…_too much I can't forget..._

The young woman, emotionally aged by recent experiences far beyond her physical years, stared down into the empty can held between her sagging hands. She let the hollow can fall to the ground, rolling slowly towards the fluctuating waterline. Looking over at the next six-pack, Linna pulled the first beverage from the new source and attempted to drink the weight of the world off of her shoulders. _All I wanted to do was help people… I never wanted it to be like this… I never imagined it could end like this… _Her thoughts turned to her aspirations of first finding the Knight Sabers, then the effort to join their cause… except she never could have known the true reasons behind their actions. Her worn face cracked a thin smile as the irony of the situation finally donned on her dimming conscious… the fact that the motivations for each of the individual Knight Sabers stayed a mystery even to the other members of the group, the shadowy nature of the organization remaining true even amongst themselves.

Linna could feel the senses dulling to the influences of the surrounding chaos… but not her subconscious. The troubled woman's mind drifted back into the past, back to all the revelations from Sylia… and the conversation afterwards that altered her outlook on the world forever. She recalled the last few words from Sylia's mouth, then Priss abruptly rising off the couch and walking out the door, Leon in tow. Further memories of Sylia's half-hearted protests met with the singer's rejection replayed themselves once more. Linna could tell that Sylia knew she was balancing without a leg to stand on… that she had hid many things from Priss, but the fact that the hardsuits were boomers was the last straw. Linna recalled the tense moments of silence after Priss' exit… the anxiety… the indecision… then leaping off the couch to chase after her… running out the sliding door to the hallway… and nearly crashing into the waiting woman on the other side.

Reflections of that moment still burned from the depths of Linna's soul as if they were happening within the present… not the distance of two weeks of time. She recalled feeling the heat flush in her face at the accidental proximity, the two women's faces nearly touching from her rush… then Priss' head turning and nodding once at the end of the hallway… seeing Leon's protesting gaze broken as he turned the corner and headed out alone… then eyes locked together for one brief moment, breath held from anticipation… so much to say… so much to apologize for… so many regrets…

_So much I want to remember… _

…_too much I can't forget..._

Crystal clear memories shined from the remains of her heart… the brown globes of the singer showing her pain, her hurts… a lone tear rolling from one of the shimmering lenses on her pale face… words not forming in Linna's racing mind… Priss' head turning to the side, breaking the eye contact from the awkward moment… not able to stand the suspense any longer… diving into Priss' arms, hands circling around her back… holding on to her, never wanting to let go again… fumbling with words, trying to communicate… "I'm so sorry Priss… Can… can you ever forgive me? I had no idea that it… that you… she…"

"She what?"

Slightly startled by her question, but answering anyway… "Galatea… she was just using you… you didn't want to do those things to me…" then looking into Priss' eyes and seeing the conflict within… asking the question without realizing the words were spoken… "… you didn't want to, right?…" Again, the conflict present behind her concealing features… slowly relaxing the hold… finally recognizing that she wasn't returning the embrace… Priss was still holding back… taking a cautious step backwards… "Priss?"

"I don't know Linna… I… it's hard to sort it all out…"

"But… you were laughing… you were crazy… it wasn't you, I know that."

"But I still let it happen! I could have fought it more, I think… and I was still so damn mad at you… and still am..."

The burning glare of betrayal still present in her soul shined brightly through her eyes even weeks after Priss had looked Linna in the face again. "Priss… I…"

"You don't have to apologize any more Linna. I think I've gotten my pound of flesh out of you now. I'm just… It's time to let go of the past."

"What… what are you saying?"

"Look, the Knight Sabers are finished. We're done. No more hardsuits… Galatea's unleashed somewhere in the world… it's time to let go… let the professionals do what they get paid to do, not some rank amateurs hoping to be heroes for a day."

Linna still wasn't sure two weeks later if Priss' attack was personal or not, but it still hurt nonetheless. "So you're just giving up then?"

"Even if Sylia had one of those damn boomers in the pit right now, there's no way I'd put it on."

"Does it make that much of a difference now! You wore it for over a year and just because you find out how they work now, you're through with it!"

"What the Hell do you care! You'd go out naked if Sylia asked you to!"

"What's that supposed to mean!"

"Linna, you know what your problem is… you're too damn willing to follow anyone who holds up a sign saying they'll fight for a just cause, even if you have no idea what that cause really is. You really think Sylia's telling you the whole truth now? Even after all she's hid from us."

"I don't think she's got much of a choice in the matter anymore, do you?"

"Yeah. It seems as if we're all one big happy family, whether or not we like it," Priss retorted bitterly. "Look Linna, I don't need any more reasons to walk away right now… I just…"

"You just what? Wanted to let me know you still hated my guts and wanted to kill me the next time we met?"

"LINNA!"

"What!"

Reflections shimmered from the depths of her memory… images of Linna's shaking hands balled into fists, tensed by either side… Priss' slow deliberate motion… taking one of the fists into her calm hands, pulling it in close to her face… prying open the fingers… flattening the palm out… bringing the now trembling appendage to her lips, gently brushing the skin then methodically bringing it to rest over her own heart.

The tingling sensation traversed throughout Linna's entire body just as it had two weeks ago… "I… I thought you still hated me…"

"Part of me still does… but, other parts…" Priss pressed the hand even tighter to her chest instead of finishing the thought vocally.

Concentrating on the pulsing warmth flowing through the connecting link brought back too many emotions to the surface. Tears fell from the pale violet eyes in the past and present, recalling the closeness shared between them… if only for a brief moment. Linna recalled the overwhelming urges that swept through her body… trying to fold against her own straightened arm, using it to pull closer to the woman standing before her… only to have her advances stopped by one of the singer's arms, her hand pressing against Linna's pounding heart… "Priss…"

"Wait Linna."

"But…"

"I think we've hurt each other enough, don't you?" Priss' words echoing back from the past to both lift and sink the heart simultaneously. A beginning and an ending rolled into one, painful sentence. "Look, I just need some space now from all of this… the boomers… Sylia… the hardsuits…"

"And me?"

"Everything's wrapped together in my mind right now… I can't deal with just one part of it while ignoring the rest." Linna recalled the shivering that permeated throughout Priss' body as she continued to speak. "Galatea did something to my mind… she got in my head, but I was able to fight back… but only if I concentrated on the hate I felt for you, and everything you had done to me. I… I just need some time to myself to work things out…"

Tears continued to fall from Linna's face both in the past and present, remembering the bitter truth of the situation. "I… I think I understand now… but still, can't I help you somehow?"

"Just go away Linna… get away from Sylia… leave Tokyo behind… go back to your parent's house and stay away from this place. Hell is coming… and… and I just don't want to see you get hurt again..."

"Don't treat me like some child! What makes you so sure…"

Priss' hand rose up as she gently placed one finger over Linna's quivering lips, silencing the anger in her throat. "Don't. I know you still want to try and help, but you have no idea what you're dealing with. You've only gotten a taste of what she's like."

Linna took Priss outstretched hand and gripped it tightly with both of hers. "Then stay and help me Priss!"

"Linna, I can't… I can barely help myself right now… I… I've just never felt so helpless…"

"Priss…"

"Maybe it's better that Sylia admitted the hardsuits are nothing more than damn boomers… I need the time to put my head back together again anyway. It's time Linna. Goodbye."

Linna recalled the desperate feeling of loss sweeping over her soul as Priss pulled her hand from Linna's grip and turned to leave. With another crystal clear memory, she recalled the rage that built within at the sight of the Blue Saber walking out. "Just… just where are you going anyway?"

She stopped and turned her head back towards the shaking woman. "I don't know… I'll probably just stay with Leon for now…"

"Why? Y… You don't… really… want…"

Recalling the hand held over Priss' heart, the indecision in her voice. "I've got nowhere else to go… and I…I just don't want to be alone right now…"

"Please Priss, don't go…" Watching Priss continue to walk away, desperately thinking of something to say, anything to try and make her stop… "I'm not giving up! I won't quit Priss! You hear me! I'll fight Galatea with my bare hands if I have to!"

The words finally stopped Priss' retreat, but only for a moment… "I know you won't Linna… but that's who you are, isn't it? Just be careful…" …and then she turned the corner and was gone…

_So much I want to remember… _

…_too much I can't forget..._

_To be continued..._


	2. Part 2

AFA Intermission

Reflections – pt. 2

* * *

_So much I want to remember… _

…_too much I can't forget..._

Linna's chilled body shivered in the otherwise warm, humid evening. Her eyes struggled to focus on the now empty can in her hands, her physical functions faltering even though her memory somehow continued to torture her beaten conscious with sharp reflections of the past. A small wave flowed through her folded over legs, further soaking Linna's already drenched pants with its salty contents. Awareness of the rising tidal waters lifted the now staggering woman to her feet. She stumbled up the beach towards the tree line, parking herself with the remaining unopened beverages a safe distance away for the short term.

Pulling out yet another beer, she lifted the can to her numbing lips and continued to drink away the heartbreaks of her recent past. Her mind swirled with the thoughts of Priss leaving and the emotional wake that followed… nearly pulling her under…

She recalled drifting back into the lounge… Nene, Mackey, and Sylia trying at first to talk as if they hadn't overheard the whole conversation… then Sylia finally speaking up…

"She's gone for good this time, isn't she?"

"I… I think so. Finding out the truth about the hardsuits… it… it was just too much for her right now."

"And what about you? I heard you say you weren't going to give up. Is it true?"

"Yes. Yes, we've still got to stop Galatea somehow…" then another thought… "Are you going to build more hardsuits?"

Mackey's voice rang in her memory next… "We've already started actually. Nigel and I were already working on improvements for power and longevity, but now I guess we've got a clean slate to work with."

"Yes, and I hope we can have them finished in less than two weeks. I just hope that's enough time… before Galatea's power grows too strong…"

More memories flowed back… Nene's affirmation to stay with the Knight Sabers… her commitment to Mackey… and to Sylia…

Then Linna's thoughts begin to fade for a time… partially because of the alcoholic mixture flowing in her bloodstream, but also because of her wavering purpose at the time… hanging around the pit… watching Nigel, Mackey, and Sylia work on the new hardsuits… but not suited to really help much herself… unable and unwilling to return to her own ruse at Hugh Geit… uncertain where to turn next due to the emotional turmoil in her heart at Priss' departure… once again wandering the streets of the city… partially lost in its expansive lure, but also trying to avoid certain sections that brought back so many painful images from the past… then the one evening that changed everything again…

Exploring a new section of an entertainment district on the other side of the city… finding a dance club… unknowingly attracted to the entering crowd… finding the music flowing through the bitter parts of the soul… not a good dancer but losing inhibitions in the swelling anarchy within… temporarily letting go of so many pieces of the past… twirling carefree and senseless on the dance floor… a song stopping and then noticing the couples around… blushing as realization of being watched by those couples… same sex couples… female couples… brushing off a feeling of awkwardness, replaced with a confidence of acceptance… perhaps a small part of the heart finally acknowledging true attractions… the next song bringing out a genuine smile to the face… spinning around the others on the floor for a time… then the song ending… a tap on the shoulder… turning around to see a face… the face of one… of her… the one the heart will never forget…

Recalling the alluring western accent in her Japanese… "Hi! Mind if I dance the next song with you?"

"S… Sure…" The fast, techno pulsing beat drummed out the pattering of the heart, eyes flowing up and down the other body… disheveled dirty blond hair framing the clear aqua-blue eyes… scanning lower, taking in every ounce of the her barely covered and well tanned skin… her shapely form gyrating wildly with the heated rhythms pulsing from the surrounding speakers… almost intimidated with her raw sexual beauty… songs beginning to flow together… barely able to keep up with the athletic woman leading her along… finally a slow song breaking the fevered pace… forcing out a nearly breathless thanks to the other woman… starting to head to a table, except held back by a firm grip on the wrist…

"You're not leaving yet, are you?" The unmistakable sultry message visible through those light blue eyes...

Recollection of a welcome smile growing across her face warmed the heart once more. "Well, not since you asked." Linna remembered allowing herself be drawn into the young woman standing so sure of herself on the floor… resting a weary head on her toned shoulder and following the other's lead… massaging hands gently caressing Linna's back… settling further into the embrace… tracing just inside the outline of the slightly taller woman's shirt with exploring fingers… then a husky voice breathing into her ear stimulating the excited senses even further…

"By the way, my name's Ginger… my friends call me Gin. What's yours?"

Fighting against the tickling sensation in the ear… "L… Linna. You're not from Japan, are you?"

A throaty giggle coupled with a squeeze of wrapping arms… "No, I've only been here for a couple of weeks. I from… What the…!"

The explosion and the screams of horror that followed still rang unforgettable familiar dread through Linna's mind. Panicked masses fleeing towards the front exits as several mechanical invaders began cutting through the first wave of unsuspecting victims… "Boomers!"

"What! But I thought…" The foreigner struggled with the unknown, feet frozen in place.

"Come ON!" Experience taking over… grabbing the other woman by the wrist and trying to pull her to safety… memory blurring for a time, until finally exiting the doomed club and into the streets… finding an army of zombie-like demons slaughtering the unprepared humans… "Oh God… It's started…" Seeing the other woman shaking almost uncontrollably… urging her on, through the mutating horde… running… dodging… carnage everywhere… blindly scampering away from the sprouting killers… then cutting through an alley… a boomer close behind… a yelp followed by Ginger's hand breaking away… turning around, finding the woman sprawled out on the ground… holding her ankle… the boomer menacingly stalking closer… running back to lift the injured woman upright… throwing her arm over supporting shoulders and starting to drag her out of the alley… until stopping at the sight of another boomer at the other end…no way out… trapped… "Shit! Wish I had a hardsuit right now…"

"What… what's a hardsuit?" the question asked from the foreigner through the overwhelming pain and fear in her voice.

Ignoring the question… eyes darting through the encroaching sides of the alley… fire escapes not low enough to reach… terrified shouts of the woman hanging on to her… boomer's metallic claws scraping the walls, signaling the encroaching doom… only meters away in front of them… spinning around to find the other even closer… seeing a horizontal supporting beam above… a crazy idea borne from their helpless situation… _just the right height… _"Stay right here…"

"Wha… What are you doing?"

Running directly at the boomer below the beam… leaping into the air directly in front of it… spinning around and landing on it's surprised shoulders… then pushing off and up to the beam… the boomer staggering back just a bit, but recovering enough to stalk towards the now airborne swinging feet… Ginger's nervous whimpers reminding of the consequences of failure… _right… there! _jackknifing the body into a spin while still holding onto the beam… wincing as the pain only slightly throbs from the still healing abdomen… accelerating over the top of the makeshift parallel bar… then slamming down on the boomer's unprotected back with both legs planting directly on target… bouncing off the dense metal hulk, but still having a significant impact on the beast's balance… watching the boomer stagger past the cowering woman off to the side and crashing headfirst into the other advancing monstrosity… both attackers flailing to the ground, roaring in anger at the setback… dropping to the ground and nearly doubling over in pain before the adrenaline kicks in again… running back to Gin's side… noticing with shocked amazement that the two boomers are trying to fuse together, prolonging their struggle to get upright once again… rushing out of the alley…trying to avoid more boomers… unable to get far because of their injuries… stopping in front of an apartment building… hearing lurking metal demons approaching from all sides… "We've got to hide for a while. Neither of us are going to last out here like this."

"O… Ok."

Entering the building… knocking on doors but getting no help… no response… "Is anyone still here?"… going up several floors… finding a door open… peering in and finding the small apartment abandoned, but luckily not empty of furnishings or food … setting Ginger down on the couch… reflexively locking the door, but realizing the futility afterwards… starting to turn on the lights but deciding against it… looking out a window to see a few mutating monstrosities terrorizing the streets below, but not entering buildings just yet… checking on the groaning woman's swollen ankle… wrapping it in ice… giving her some aspirin… taking some herself… joining the limp woman on the couch… sitting under her head, letting Ginger use her lap as a pillow… gently stroking her hair, calming her…

"What… What just happened out there?" The hauntingly whispered question many were probably asking… only so few really knew the answer… Linna knew she was one of those few…

"All the boomers are going rouge… its… its crazy…"

"Thanks for saving me. I don't think I'd be alive right now if it wasn't for you Linna."

_If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have been hurt in the first place… _she remembered keeping the thought to herself without realizing the obvious signs of regret on her face.

"What's wrong?" Linna recalled the worried look in the aqua-blue eyes gazing up into her own misting ones.

"Nothing…" The question dismissed with the single guilt-ridden word.

Silence for a time, then another question… "Do you think we'll make it? I… I'm not ready to die…"

"We have to make it."

"I'm scared."

"I am too Ginger."

A hand reaching up to softly cup her cheek flushed Linna's face once more… "Gin… call me Gin…"

Taking the hand in her own… "Ok Gin…" Dirty blond hair settling into place across tense thigh muscles… pressure numbing the legs, but unwilling to disturb her rest… after a time, recognizing the young woman lying on her was sleeping… carefully getting up and finding a pillow and blanket in a bedroom… covering Ginger up first… then setting up a makeshift bed below… trying to stay awake to stand watch…but soon losing consciousness as the adrenaline rush finally died off… restless sleep disturbed by nightmares of the horrors of the past… and the likely horror of the future… becoming aware of an shaking arm clinging under the blankets… rolling over to find frightened aqua-blue eyes pleading for comfort, closeness… giving into the needs of the other… circling her shivering torso with reassuring arms… finally finding rest with shared warmth…

_So much I want to remember…_

The reflections began to blur in Linna's conscious mind, the effects of the multitude of alcoholic drinks beginning to take its toll on the images of her weathered past. Watery eyes struggled to remember the events that followed… waking in Gin's arms… not able to leave together because of her ankle… not willing to leave her alone in case a boomer found their hiding spot… TV, radio both dead… soon after the power dying as well… realizing their NAVI's were in purses back at the club, left to the rampaging boomers… hearing the mutating hordes stalk the streets endlessly, but luckily not coming up to their building… or at least their floor…

At first, simply talking to the foreigner… trying to keep her calm while her ankle healed… conversing with her for hours… but soon discovering all the hidden beauty contained within her shapely figure… confirming her attraction towards women with a mixture of relief and mild fear…

Comparing her European city life with the Asian country life… finding the differences intriguing… almost beckoning to be explored… but still a reminder of something else… of someone else…

Sustenance was challenging to say the least… making due with the food left in the apartment… raiding other apartments on the floor for food as well… realizing that this was probably how post quake survivors had to live… thinking of one survivor in particular… thinking about how hard her past life must have been… trying hard not to dwell on that person… finding the company of the foreigner a welcome distraction… staying in the apartment like that for two full days… then on the third day…

Even through the self-induced mental haze, Linna's body heated up from the memories that vividly replayed themselves out… waking before the other woman still resting beside her on the bed they had innocently shared for the last two nights… deciding to take a shower first and then find breakfast afterwards… luckily finding the water still running… water not too cold, but not exactly warm either… then… a soft voice nearly causing a heart attack…

"Linna?…" a nervous head poking around a shower curtain… "I… I'm… can I join you?"

Seeing the lingering fear of loneliness in her eyes… blushing at the possible implications… but giving in to the warming comfort of togetherness shared with the other woman… "Sure Gin… the water's cold though…"

"I don't mind."

Modestly turning around so as not to stare at the well toned and well tanned woman entered the small shower stall…momentarily distracted by turning the shower head to the side to give more room away from the cold liquid… "So how's your ankle today?"

Then, suddenly jolted by an electric touch on the back… jumping forward and away from the contact, only to dive into the cold spray… reflexively leaping backwards from the chilling water… and into the surprised but quickly adapting arms of Ginger… body shivering from the dual sensations of icy water evaporating from rapidly heating skin and the now exploring hands roaming over her exposed front…

"It's feels much better now," her sultry breath flowed against Linna's ear.

Not finding the willpower to protest her advances nor the feel of her warming flesh pressed against the back… breathing becoming rapid, shallow… eyes fluttering shut… then one roaming hand drifting lower… but stopping over a certain area of the body… tracing the outline of a reminder Linna could never forget…

"What's this?" A sincere question asked out of innocence…

Taking that hand in her own shaking ones… turning around to face the slightly taller woman… finding the explanation not revealing itself to her… part from the secrets she still had hidden from the near stranger, and part from the dark emptiness of still not truly knowing what happened… memories clouded by the trauma of the accident… finally answering with part of the truth… "It's… it's from a boomer incident… one of the boomers I worked with attacked me…"

"oh… oh Linna, I'm so sorry…"

"It's OK… it's not like you could have known…"

"But I could tell something was wrong… the way you didn't want to open up to me…"

"I… I didn't?"

"No, not really… I wondered if you weren't intimidated by me… or maybe you just didn't want to be with me…"

"Ginger, I… I'm happy I'm here with you… although not under the greatest of circumstances…"

"You really mean that?"

"Of course I do."

"You're so brave Linna… this scar… it doesn't look more than a few weeks old… and yet, you still took on that boomer in the alley like you weren't even afraid of it."

"Comes with practice I guess."

"Linna?"

"Yes Gin?"

The wordless question spoken with passion in those aqua-blue eyes raised the temperature in Linna's flush body even further… one hand rising to the back of Linna's neck… pulling her head in close… head tilted slightly… eyes closing… soft, moist contact… gentle at first, then becoming more feverish… desperate… bodies melting together through the shared intensity of desire…

_So much I want to remember…_

Nearly silent sobs drifted across the desolate beach as Linna choked back the heartache of what she knew she could never have again… the love she was taught by the younger (in years) but more experienced woman smoldered in the back of her mind… the feathery soft sensations of her touch drew out from the recesses of every corner of her being… awakening the country girl to a depth of need she had never known before… a need that would now seemingly go unfulfilled for the rest of her life, however short it might be…

As Linna recalled memories of Gin's caressing fingers dancing across her skin, another reflection shifted into her pained thoughts… a reflection of the conflict her heart couldn't avoid.

Linna couldn't remember exactly how they had made it to the bed, only that they had… and that she had fallen asleep at some point… then in the purplish haze somewhere between unconscious dreams and conscious desires, a fantasy borne from heartbreaks of the past filled her troubled mind…

She found herself lying in a hospital bed, still recovering from the accident… a apologetic form sitting in a chair next to the bed… the form standing up and moving over the covering sheets… pulling them back… exposing lingering scars from traumas not forgotten… "I'm sorry Linna. Can't I help make the hurt go away?"… whispering the answer to the woman dressed in signature red leathers… "…yes..."

A low moan escaping as the other's hands freely roamed over every inch of Linna's quivering body… the recuperating woman gripped the sheets of the bed tightly trying to restrain her building desires… relishing every second of the pleasured attention she was receiving… lust burning to be released… panting the name of the vision in her dreams… _"Oh God… Priss… Priss…"_

"Who's Priss?"

Eyes snapping open to surprised and saddened aqua-blue one's, continuing to ask the question without actually saying it any more…

"Ginger?"

"Why? Who did you want it to be?" the well-toned one had asked unable to contain the bitter taste of betrayal in her throat.

"I… I must have been dreaming…"

"About someone else," the dirty blond had spat out, sitting up and turning away from the confused woman.

Recollections of sitting up as well and putting a shaking hand on her well tanned back…"Gin… Gin, I'm sorry… please… please don't…"

Then heated memories flashed back of Ginger springing towards her… being pushed into the bed by the fiery-eyed athletic woman, suddenly shifting over the top of Linna's torso… arms being pinned down to either side of her spinning head… lips attacking the country girl's shocked mouth… heat boiling over from the surprising advance… then breaking off the impassioned kiss with just a few words… "Don't worry Linna… in a few minutes, you won't even remember that name anymore…" Then memories of those precious minutes evaporated under the white-hot glare of unbridled passion released once more…

_So much I want to remember…_

Even now the pangs of guilt and remorse felt like huge lumps within Linna's marred body. _Why couldn't I let go? Why did she have to be the one in my dreams that day? Why couldn't I have just dreamed of Gin? Why won't my heart let go? Why can't I let her go? It's her… somehow… she's holding me back… Just let me go Priss, please… please Priss, set me free… just set me free… _

But that magical switch remained as elusive in the present as it had just one short week ago. Linna recalled waking once more to a sniffling Ginger, sitting on the bed with her back to Linna. "Gin? Gin, what's wrong?" she had asked confused, thinking that somehow the betrayal had been forgotten.

"_What do you think?" _she had thrown over her shoulder bitterly, giving just a momentary view of her puffy, tear streaked face.

There had been no mistaking the true meaning behind her words then. "Gin, please, listen to me… if this is about Priss…"

"I already listened to you Linna. I listened to every single inflection in your voice when you called out _her name_ before. Unless that "Priss" is already dead, I know what you really want… even now… even when you're with me…"

"Gin, don't do this…"

"…why… why did you…" she briefly mumbled… and then simply stopped.

Linna remembered the awful silence that fell between them, a virtual barrier broken only by an occasional sniffle as the other woman remained in her distant posture, still facing the far wall. Even now, she languished under the urges that swept through her torn soul… the urge to reach out and try to pull Gin back into her heart. In her fantasy, Linna reached out to Gin…turning her face from the empty, blank wall… delving one more time into those longing aqua-blue eyes and professing her undying love over and over…

In her memory, Linna tried to reach out to Ginger, only to have the tanned woman jerk away from the contact. Linna's hand recoiled from the rejection, her own heart sinking as she realized the depth of the hurt she had unknowingly caused.

"Don't touch me," she had ordered in a low tone…. the words spoken not from anger… not from spite… not some kind of backwards invitation… but from a sudden closing. Without giving her another chance, Ginger had jumped off the bed and walked, now with just a slight limp, out of the room… not giving so much as a glance in Linna's direction.

Her mind spun in the past and the present as she vainly attempted to decipher all the mixed messages from the foreigner. Linna remembered her warm smile, her soft touch, strong advances, the bitterness in her voice, the aggressive ferocity when fighting for Linna's heart… and then the sudden, confusing regression into surrender… Linna knew there had to be more to Gin than this. She hadn't known her for that long, but still, in her heart, she knew that the foreigner wouldn't just give up like this without a reason. "Something… there has to be something in her past…" she had decided at the time.

The fighter within Linna had urged her on… she had quickly thrown on her hand washed clothes and marched out to the living room… finding Ginger already dressed in scavenged clothing of her own… just finishing tying her "borrowed" athletic shoes…

Linna fumbled for just a second before words finally came spilling out of her mouth…

"Gin, please listen… there's… it's just… there's nothing going on between me and Priss…"

"But that's not the way you want it, is it?" she had answered without looking up from her shoelaces.

"Yes… I mean no… I mean… it doesn't matter what I wanted with her before… what I want now is you Gin, I just want to be with you."

"Except yesterday you said you had to stay in Tokyo."

"But… but that has nothing…"

Ginger pounced to her feet, fists clinched by her sides as she turned towards the startled Linna. "Don't tell me it's not because of this Priss person! Everyone else in this city is probably running for their lives and yet you want to stay for some insane reason!" she punctuated by throwing her arms into the air.

Linna's eyes darted to the side as she winced from the intensity of the other woman's words. "But it's not because of her."

"And I'm supposed to believe that now! Then what is it! What else is still here for you? You told me your entire family still lives out in the country."

"Yes, they do. But…"

"Linna, just stop." Ginger let out a depressed sigh as she bowed her head and stared into the ground. "I already told you I was getting out of Tokyo as soon as I could walk. After… after this morning, I thought that maybe you'd want to come with me… until… until I started thinking…"

"Gin, I'd love to come with you, but I just can't right now…"

"See, I knew it. Why? Why do you have to stay here?" she pleaded with the country girl.

"_Because I have to stop the boomers,"_ she answered out of desperation, not stopping to think about the consequences of her words.

"What! What the Hell are you thinking! How are you …" Ginger trailed off, completely thrown off by the serious tone of the brown-haired woman's words.

Linna paused while bowing her head with the guilt she had not so secretly harbored. "Because, because I'm the one that caused this in the first place. I'm the reason they are all going rouge now."

"Linna, that's crazy! You're just an office lady. What'd you do, type in a memo wrong? Wait, you said the company you work for makes boomer parts…"

"Yes… no… NO! That's not it either," she answered with mounting frustration.

"Then why do you think this is all your fault?"

"Because I found the thing that's causing all this… and then couldn't stop it from being released…"

"Linna, what on earth are you rambling about?"

"Gin… I… I'm a…"

"… I'm a Knight Saber Gin, that's why… that's why I had to stay," she finally answered into the tear filled sand at her feet. But Linna never got the chance to say those words… she had waited too long… too long to finally open up to the other woman who had grown so important to her in such a beautifully sweet but agonizingly short amount of time.

She wrapped her arms around herself to try and quell her shuddering as tremors of what happened next crept up from the depth of her nightmares. Linna recalled the shaking floor silencing her admission… both women tensing as the floor began to quake under their feet… then the first roar…

"A Boomer!" she had tried to warn, but just a moment too late…

The flimsy wall exploded under the unnatural force of a metallic claw. It sprung into the small living area, immediately clamping around the frozen body of Ginger before she finally screamed out her horror.

Sitting on the placid beach, Linna could feel the terror in Ginger's screams as vividly as if she was still standing right next to her…

_To be continued…_


	3. Part 3

AFA Intermission

Reflections – pt. 3

* * *

_So much I want to remember… _

…_too much I can't forget..._

In one of her clinched fists lay a crumpled ball of aluminum, crushed while reflecting on the terrifying boomer attack in the apartment. Linna realized now, a week later, that the boomer had probably gotten into the building earlier that morning while she was distracted with _'other'_ activities… not that it helped alleviate the heavy remorse weighing on her heart. But it wasn't remorse that driven her to act in the past. Even in the present, the rage against the inhuman invader swelled just as it had then. Thus, she shouted out into Tokyo bay the exact words she had used on the boomer…

"LET… HER… GO!" Grabbing the closest object that remotely resembled a weapon, Linna had charged with a broom and struck out with the plastic handle. It wasn't exactly a well thought out attack… more of a knee-jerk reaction laced with overflowing adrenaline. However, somehow the handle found its way directly into one of the beast's burning red eyes.

The boomer howled in artificial anger, letting go of the terrified human in its grasp as it struggled to pull out the foreign object. Ginger slumped to the ground as Linna ran back to her side, pulling her upright.

"Gin! Gin, are you OK?"

"Y… Yeah," she answered shakily. Her blue eyes flared as the boomer screamed out its agony, breaking off the broom handle and tossing it to the side. "It… it's blocking…"

"Come on! This way," Linna ordered, taking charge as she pulled on the other woman's arm. The two women ran to the back of the small apartment towards one of the windows. Linna threw it open and started to push Ginger out of it.

"Wait! Where…"

"The fire escape! Its our only chance," she yelled, pointing at the ladder just to the right of the opening. As the two women scurried down the flimsy metal stairway, Linna couldn't help the overwhelming sense of deja vu that had chilled her body. However, focusing on the task of saving Ginger, she had managed to push aside the fears of what had almost happened to her the first time she "met" the Knight Sabers… the first time Priss had saved her own life…

They had just hit the alley below when the roar of the boomer above momentarily stopped both women in their tracks. The next sound Linna remembered hearing was the distinct creaking sound of overstressed metal giving way… just before the boomer crashed through four stories of ladders and into the pavement below. Both women turned and fled out of the alley, not bothering to look back and see if the monstrosity was attempting pursuit.

…_too much I can't forget..._

Those sharp images poured adrenaline into Linna's body in the present just as much as it had then, her heart hammering out as they had fled their temporary home together. Linna recalled running for what seemed like eternity… glad that the woman she was with was just as athletic as she was… wondering if she was in as much pain as Linna felt in her slowly healing abdomen… trying not to dwell on their previous conflict while concentrating on escaping…

They looked forever… searching for signs of humanity… finding Tokyo nearly a ghost town now… streets littered with the mutated carcasses of rogue boomers coated in dried human blood… evidence of the slaughtering of so many innocent lives… lives that Linna couldn't help but feel responsible for… lives cut short by her inability to stop Galatea from being released…

Linna had held her guilt in check for that moment, still trying to focus on keeping alive the lone human she could still help… but in the present, she wasn't as fortunate… the pangs of all the dead continued to gnaw away at her from the inside out despite the strong alcoholic buzz… a buzz that wasn't helping ease the pain nearly as much as she so desperately needed… especially as her guilty conscious continued to beat her battered soul into submission with sharp images of the past… a past that even now she realized she could have never seen coming… _but I could have done more… I know I could have stopped it somehow… somehow… somehow… she'd still be here… here with me… Gin… why?… _

Finally finding survivors, people heading out to waiting convoys evacuating the remaining citizens of Tokyo… following the small groups until reaching the buses carrying people out of the city… finding food rations being handed out… welcome relief of the company of others… pausing while waiting for the buses to leave… turning to Gin… finding her aqua blue eyes lost deep in thought… realizing that this could be the last time to ever see or talk to her again… standing in the long shadows cast by the now desolate city around them… struggling with just the right words to say…

"Gin?"

"Yes Linna?"

"I… I'm sorry… sorry for…"

Her apology was cut off by a deep sigh from the dirty blond. "Linna, you don't have to apologize. It's not your fault. You can't help which direction your heart gets pulled, can you?"

Looking deep into her eyes and seeing the resignation within. "No, I guess not."

"Look Linna, I know… I understand what you're going through. I've seen it before… had it happen to me actually. I'm just happy to be alive right now… and no matter what you say, it's not your fault. You saved my life… twice, damnit! So stop beating yourself up over what happened in the past. You can't change it, so just deal with what you can now."

"…Gin…" Linna wasn't able to bring herself to admit the closure that stood her in the face at that moment. She had eventually come up with some sort of answer, but just as she had turned to speak… her thoughts were scattered by a surprising question.

"Linna, are you sure… sure you won't come with me?"

"What? But…"

"I'm not asking… I… I just want you to be safe. I don't want to hear about you staying here in Tokyo and getting yourself killed just because you feel guilty about something you probably had no control over anyway… although you did seem to handle those boomers pretty well back there," she had joked with a smile that melted Linna's heart.

But even with the pull on her heart, Linna had known what she still had to do… what her duty called for… "Gin, I have to stay. I… I don't know how to explain it…"

Another deep sigh from the still well tanned woman halted her attempt. "You don't have to. I know there's something… different… about you Linna. Just be careful, OK?"

"I will. I promise."

The guards had announced the buses were ready… the evacuation route verified clear… the gathered masses quickly began filing into the three buses, threatening to overload them…

"You've got to go now Gin."

"I know," she answered even though she had lingered for a moment. As a tear escaped one aqua blue eye, her arms had reached out and pulled Linna into a hug… Linna was more than willing to return… hearing one of the buses beginning to leave… trying to push the dirty blond away so she could catch one of the buses… only to have Ginger's lips find hers instead… the kiss deepening even as the second bus's doors closed and began to pull away… finally breaking the kiss…

Tears now streaming down Gin's shining face. "Damnit Linna, you're making me want to stay here in this crazy place."

"Part of me wishes you would Gin," Linna remembered answering honestly, drawing one finger across the shiny streaks on her cheek.

"Promise me… promise me you'll look me up when this is all over, OK?"

Linna had turned her eyes away, unable to voice her true fears about her own fate. "Ginger, I… I don't…"

"Just promise! Please!" the taller woman had demanded, pulling Linna's eyes back into her own.

Letting out a heavy sigh. "I promise."

Hearing the solders last call as the few stragglers began to cram into the packed bus… saying one final teary goodbye… pushing Gin towards the light gray vehicle… watching the athletic woman turn towards the bus, but then turning back around one final time…

"No matter what happens out here, just trust your heart… just trust what your heart tells you Linna."

The brown haired woman recalled clinching her shirt tightly over her own heart as she answered. "I will Gin. I will…"

Then watching her limp onto the overcrowded bus as the doors closed behind her… the bus leaving towards the guarded highway… down the same path as the other two before… driving towards the tunnel that would take it to the other side of the industrial district they were in… turning around… thinking of how to find Ginger later… smiling while reflecting on saving her life twice from rogue boomers… _but I couldn't see the third one coming… _

The deep despair carved from the dreaded shouts of the guards occupied the empty parts of Linna's soul now… the anguish of spinning around and finding their weapons firing into the tunnel, the same tunnel the bus had just entered… the disbelief at the ferocity of the roar pouring out of the tunnel…. the horrid, wrenching sound of metal being, crushed, torn apart, shredded… the helplessness at hearing shrieks of the dying and soon to be dead from the underground massacre… the fright of nearing flashes from ineffective weapons of the soldiers… standing, feet frozen in place as the gigantic monstrosity emerged from its hellish cavern… smoking remains of a gray bus trapped in its vise-like jaws, dripping with fresh blood … soldiers panicking, running in all directions… smaller metallic demons emerging from the tunnel to stalk the remaining humans… calling, yelling, screaming for Ginger… hearing nothing over the sounds of death all around… more gunfire intermixed with bellowing bastardized machines slaughtering any who resisted… looking one final time at the pile of wreckage that had been Ginger's bus… anger, hatred, vengeance swelling within… from all of it borne a promise… _"I'll be back! God help me I'll come back and kill all of you!"_

Linna remembered turning around and running, just running… running forever… running for what seemed like hours… she didn't care how far it was or how long it took… just running… running to the only place she could carry out her bloody promise… running all the way to the pit… and hopefully, running to find a functioning hardsuit…

…_too much I can't forget..._

The only tears that would come to Linna's bloodshot eyes were dry ones now. She opened the last can of beer with the intention of finishing it in one single try. Tilting her head back, the sky spun above her as Linna fell back into the sand… but never dropped the can from her lips. After a few moments, the contents had been emptied with as much stubbornness as the second Linna had burst into the pit…

"_Where's Sylia!"_ she had screamed out nearly breathless. The only unlucky souls in the room were Nigel and Mackey. Linna had startled the young boy, but still not fazing the older mechanic who was in the midst of working on something resembling a construction boomer.

"I… I don't know. I thought she was looking…," Mackey had started to answer before being interrupted by the impatient woman.

"_Is my hardsuit finished yet!"_

"No, not yet," Nigel answered, not bothering to even look up at Linna's flushed face.

"_How long until its done!"_

"Not very. Might be done tonight."

"_Hurry up damnit!"_

Linna remembered storming upstairs and searching for Sylia, forgetting about Mackey's attempted explanation while not finding the Knight Sabers' leader in any of her usual spots. Instead, she had found an empty bedroom first and suddenly found herself needing to rest… perhaps its soft surface a reminder of the comfort she so desperately missed now… comfort from the one she had spent all her time with for the previous three days… haunting words filled her mind… _"…promise me you'll look me up when this is all over…"_ Linna's heart had sank then as the full weight of everything that had happened finally crushed her soul… her body trembling from the overwhelming loss sweeping through her once more…

She had emptied her pain into the pillow… then, falling asleep at some point although she didn't remember when… she just remembered waking up to find Nene's bright face above hers in the day lit room…

"Linna! Are you OK? God, we were all so worried. Sylia and I have been everywhere looking for you for the last two days. What happened?"

The young blond wrapped her arms around Linna's body, giving her more comfort than Nene even knew she needed. Even so, she hadn't found the words then to explain, and her heart wasn't ready to face what had happened again… not yet… "I… I got trapped by some rogue boomers and had to hide out for the last few days. I… I'm ok though, thanks."

"Are you sure? You don't look OK Linna. Why… why were you crying? It's not about Priss still, is it?"

"No, not Priss."

"Y'know she's been worried about you too. I talked to Leon yesterday and Priss made him ask me how you were doing."

Despite everything else that had happened, she felt her heart warm up ever so slightly at Nene's tale… assuming she was to be believed. Linna still had doubts as to if Priss would still ask about her. But the topic still triggered her own concerns about the reclusive singer. "How… how is Priss?"

"Leon said she's doing much better now. The rest is really helping her out, although I wish they'd just come here and stay since its much safer here."

"Leon… you mean… Why is she still here in Tokyo?"

"Because of Leon, I think. He's too stubborn. Even though the ADP's been disbanded, he still wants to stick around and help out."

"Disbanded?"

"Yeah, since the tower's gone and just about all of our equipment's been destroyed, there isn't really much use for us to keep going. The military's taken over now so we're pretty much out of the picture."

"…oh… that's… that…" _… my fault… "_Hey, how have you been anyway?"

"Terrible… but thanks for asking. I was sure… well… really worried that something had happened to you. I… I was here with Mackey when I heard… the totem pole… the ADP tower… all the destroyed boomers came back to life somehow… the chief… he… he didn't make it. A bunch of the ADP was killed trying to go back in to save him. I… I didn't hear until after it was all over. Then, all we could think of was you. We were sure… sure something bad had happened."

"I'm so sorry Nene. My Navi… I lost it running away from the boomers that had gone rogue in the club."

"The club?"

"Oh, yeah… well, I was dancing in this club when the boomers attacked."

Linna realized now that Nene must have grabbed onto the change in subject to pull herself out of her own depressive thoughts. "A club, huh. Did you meet any cute guys there?"

"Well, there weren't any guys there that I remember."

"No… guys… Oh… OHHHH, that kind of club! Oh, well then, um… did you… um… meet any cute girls?"

The country girl blushed hard at the memories of being tapped on the shoulder and dancing with the tall, athletic woman. But so many complex emotions now came with those memories she wasn't sure she really wanted to go down that road at the time. However, Nene's warm personality helped draw out the better times, leading Linna to start talking about them first. "Well, there was this one…"

But just as her heart had begun the slow process of opening up, Linna recalled her awkward explanation being cut off as Mackey burst into the room, nearly out of breath from running all the way from the pit. "Linna, Nigel says your hardsuit is ready to test whenever you are."

All the resentful hatred at what the boomers had done flowed out of her heart at the thought of donning the hardsuit. It's malicious strength left no doubt as to what Linna had to do now. "I'm ready now," she had answered darkly, ignoring Nene, Mackey, and anything else but one thing… revenge…

The next thing Linna could remember was having the liquid metal burning her body on every unhealed scar remaining… the pain a further reminder of what she had to do… the scorching agony of her wounds mirrored inside and out… the cold metal of the hardsuit a reflection of the icy coldness permeating from her tortured soul… her thoughts finally solidified the liquid around her into the shining form of her vengeance…

"Are you ready to test it out?" Nigel had asked unassumingly.

"Yes… but not here."

"What do you have in mind?"

Linna hadn't answered verbally. She simply walked over to the launch tube and stepped inside.

"I see."

Nigel had predictably done exactly what Linna had silently asked. She remembered that it wasn't his nature to get in Sylia's own self-destructive path, so she correctly guessed that he wouldn't ask any questions about her own motivations. Linna remembered being launched into the strangely dark sky… realizing that with Galatea taking over the city that most of it was dark from a lack of power now… seeing flashes in the distance… recognizing the location as being close to where the bus was attacked… bearing down on the source of the disturbance… knuckles beginning to hurt from clinching them so tightly… preparing for the attack… ready to deal out her vengeance…

The Green Saber reflected on the sight of the horde of boomers marching below… humans fighting back with maddening ineffectiveness… flying in behind a small swarm of metal zombies… unleashing the fury of hell itself from within her hardened heart and onto the unprepared demons surrounding the hardsuit… cutting them down by the dozen… smashing through their metal carcasses like paper… the burning remains of humanity around her fueling the fires of revenge even more… slicing through wave after wave of Galatea's mindless minions… filling the streets with broken chunks of the child-god's undead servants… finally leaving only one boomer still standing… the monstrosity that had taken Ginger's life…

The Green Knight reflected on standing tall before the hulking death machine… drawing power from her memories of Gin… coiling in anticipation as the beast began plodding closer… waiting… waiting for just the right moment… then, just as one oversized arm swiped down towards her, the Green Saber had struck out, severing that arm at the shoulder, it's useless mass collapsing to the pavement below.

The beast shrieked out its fury as it lunged back at its assailant, once again missing badly and losing its other arm in the process. "Enough playing around," Linna had told herself at the time. With blinding speed, she had hurled the hardsuit right through the center of the beast's chest, blasting out a gigantic hole where the core should have been. The boomer shuddered, then fell on the remains of its chest, falling deathly still.

"Almost died too soon," the bitter parts of Linna's soul had wished at the time… only to have her dark desires come to life as the boomer impossibly stood back up and reformed its body once more. "Time for round two," she had thrown out while launching herself at the beast once more. A few more devastating blows later, the boomer was sprawled out on its smoking back, huge holes torn from its chest. "So, you want any more?" she had added with a kick to one of its motionless legs.

As if on queue, that particular leg twitched… a precursor to the boomer lumbering upright and reforming itself one more time. Linna's lips thinned out into a sinister smile. "Heh, I wasn't through with you yet anyway." Another bout of carnage ensued with the boomer suffering the worse of the treatment by far. This time the Green Saber found its true source of power… cables running underground to the corrupting dragonline network… and severed its lifeblood for good with a vicious whip of her mononuclear ribbons. The remains of the metal beast exploded into shards of projectiles, forcing the remaining human audience to take cover.

Linna glanced over at those survivors and caught glimpse of a very familiar looking one… one whose image had been burned into her memory… "Leon…" Even as she realized she had saved him, her thoughts turned to the one he wasn't with… the one who was likely alone… in his apartment… the one who had supposedly asked about her while she was missing.

Linna had felt her heart begin to hammer in her chest at the mental image of Priss once again. Promising words from the now avenged Ginger also helped the cause along… _"Just trust your heart…"_ So, trusting that heart, she made a split-second decision to fly off somewhere else other than the pit…

Linna recalled flying away, up into the sky once more… scanning the city streets below until finding the apartment she was looking for… landing on the rooftop of the building next to the one she wanted… picking out the right window… flying up to it… finding the window lock no match for her power augmented arms… climbing into the apartment… opening the visor on her helmet… metallic feet clanging on the floor… coming out of the bedroom she had broken into and finding loose sheets of paper scattered on the floor all around… Linna's eyes met with a very shocked face on top of a coiled body… armed with a guitar stand…

"Hi Priss."

"Linna? Linna, what the Hell are you… wait… that hardsuit…" she recalled the stand slowly lowering as Priss' jaw hung open.

"So what do you think? Does the boomer fit, or what?"

"…linna…"

"What's wrong Priss? Cat got your tongue or something?"

"But, why… why are you here?"

Linna just smiled as she casually closed the small gap between the two of them, confidently striding to stand over the shocked singer. "I noticed Leon wasn't home so I figured I would stop by and say hi."

"Leon… wh… where is he?"

"Fine. I just saved his butt from a bunch of boomers."

"But… the… the boomer…" she punctuated by pointing a shaking finger at the hardsuit.

Linna was surprised by just how off guard she had caught Priss with this move. But it wasn't that she had planned any of it out, she was just acting on instinct alone… and her instincts had told her to press the advantage… "Why are you still so hung up on the 'hardsuits are boomers' thing?" she had joked.

Before Priss could answer, snatched one of Priss' arms in her metal hand. "Hey! What the Hell!" the singer had tried to pull her trapped appendage away then made the fatal mistake of using her free hand to help out.

Linna took advantage by grabbing both of Priss' wrists and holding them in one armored hand.

That sent Priss into fits, pulling with her whole body to try and break free… which Linna further took advantage of by suddenly releasing her wrists. The singer, dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, slipped on some of the papers and fell backwards and to the ground with an "oomph".

Linna continued to press the advantage by pouncing on top of Priss, papers flying everywhere, pinning her arms above her head with one power-augmented hand.

Priss' eyes went wild as she squirmed under the heavy hardsuit, but found its weight and strength much more than she could handle. "Let me go damnit!"

"Not until I show you what this hardsuit can do first."

"_What!"_

The Green Saber's free hand slowly slid down the cotton shirt until it reached Priss' exposed midriff, rapidly rising and falling from her numerous fears. Linna slipped her hand under the shirt as the singer gasped at the cold metal touching her bare skin.

"Linna! Linna, stop this now…" was all that she could get out before her body jackknifed under the hardsuit… but not exactly from pain…

Linna's deft hand danced on either side of Priss' belly, forcing the woman to squirm any way she could to try and get away. "Ah, so you ARE ticklish," she smiled through her opened visor. Linna proceeded to torture the helpless singer, driving Priss into a fit of raging laughter. After a few minutes of continual pressure, Priss' face had turned beet red. Linna finally paused her assault for a moment, watching the rapid breaths of the worn out singer beneath her.

"See, I knew it… you can smile," Linna had gloated over her victory.

"Okay… okay… I give…" Priss surrendered, finally relenting to Linna's 'attack'.

Priss' arms were released by the Green Saber, but she still kept them in place, focusing her eyes instead into Linna's pale violet ones with a hint of a smile still visible on her face.

"See Priss, it's not the boomer on the outside that matters, its what's on the inside that counts."

Priss hadn't said anything else with her voice… it was her eyes that had spoken instead. Linna had found her soul flowing down into those eyes once more, being drawn into the singer's heart despite everything else that had happened between them… all the memories that seemed to be in the distant past now as she had subconsciously inched closer to Priss' face, not fully aware of what her own body was doing, just continuing to act on instinct… instincts that urged her to press on… closer still… close enough… so close that Priss seemed to try and back away, but the floor wasn't moving… at least until their lips finally met in one brief moment… then the room appeared to shake under Linna's knees and elbows… or perhaps it wasn't the room moving at all…

_So much I want to remember…_

Linna couldn't remember much of anything else around her at that moment except the feel of Priss' lips on her own. So much more happened within her body in that moment that even a few days later she still couldn't piece it all together… and especially now since the alcoholic content of numerous beers flowed so strongly through her bloodstream. All she could remember for sure was that it felt like someone was caressing the back of her neck… Priss' hand she had thought at the time…

The kiss lingered for a few more precious moments as Priss, seemingly reluctant at first, appeared to give in to her advances as she returned the impassioned gesture with her own lips… then opening up to heat up their joined bodies even further.

Linna had finally broken off the intimate contact short of breath and more than a little frustrated at having to work around a helmet that wouldn't come off normally. But she could still oh so vividly recall every detail of Priss' glowing face afterwards, her own heart thumping hard at the image in her mind. She could still see her flush cheeks, her lips moist and slightly parted as rapid breaths flowed between them, a couple of sweat beads forming on her pale forehead, falling into her ruffled brown hair, and her eyes, crystal clear reddish-brown eyes gazing longingly back into her own misting ones.

The country girl couldn't remember exactly how long they had stayed like that, just staring into each other's soul… until the sound of footsteps had broken the shared trance. Priss had recognized the familiar sound and whispered one word… "…leon…"

Linna now knew why that was such a big deal… but she had no idea at the time… no idea exactly how much the ADP officer meant to Priss… no idea how lonely she could feel even while standing right next to the woman she loved more than anyone else in the world…

"Linna, you've got to go," she announced while wriggling free from under the hardsuit.

"What? Why?" Linna questioned, as she stood up with the singer.

"Don't argue, please… just… just don't. You've got to go."

"Priss… it… I don't care if Leon sees me in the hardsuit…"

The ever-nearing steps sent Priss into a frenzy. "Linna! That's… its… just stop arguing!" She tried spinning the Green armor around.

However, Linna wasn't budging. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Linna, please… please, Leon can't see you here right now."

The pleadingly desperate look in her eyes threw Linna into fits of despair, but she finally relented. "…okay… I'll go…"

A heavy knock on the door coupled with the familiar male voice from Linna's recent nightmares drew Priss towards the entrance to the apartment. "Just a sec!" she yelled out while spinning around and silently mouthing the word "GO!" to the still confused Green Knight.

More knocking at the door led to a louder "JUST A SECOND!" from Priss, forcing Linna to take a step back. Priss gave one more pleading look in Linna's direction before walking out of the room.

Linna paused for a moment before letting out a heavy sigh and turning to walk out. The sound of paper below her drew her attention down to the floor. She recalled finding a piece of paper… song lyrics… stuck to the heel of her armored boot. She bent over, picked up the paper, and decided to keep it as a memento for the time being… a memento to the precious moments spent with Priss.

_So much I want to remember…_

Linna recalled flying out the window and back to the pit, a small grin still on her face despite the awkward ending to her 'visit' with the reclusive singer. She remembered striding confidently into the pit, bragging about how well the new suit had handled. Linna had no idea at the time why everyone was acting so strangely… Nene's red face, Mackey pretending not to be paying any attention, even a hint of a grin on Nigel's face… but it was Sylia's cocky smile that set off all the wrong alarms in Linna's head back then…

"Welcome back Linna. I see you've been _very_ busy out slaying boomers… and… well, other _hearts_ as well."

"Yeah, the new suit's really… uh, _hearts_? Um, wait…"

"Oh, you certainly didn't forget about the helmet mounted camera, did you Linna?"

Linna's jaw had nearly fallen through her hardsuit then_. "… helmet… camera…"_

Sylia let out a hearty laugh. "And I never knew just how ticklish Priss was…"

Linna was glad she couldn't see the shock plainly visible on her own face. "W… why… why the Hell didn't you tell me you could see!"

"Hmm, seems as if there was a rather convenient fault in the intercom system with the hardsuits. We couldn't talk to you, but we could sure _see_ and _hear_ everything you were doing."

"Yeah, good thing she couldn't hear us laughing, right Sylia?" the young boomer boy chimed in obliviously.

"Mackey!"

"Ooops, sorry Nene. I… I forgot we weren't going to say anything."

"WE! Did all of you just sit back and watch!"

A guilty silence had filled the inside of the pit from Linna's pointed question. "Okay, that's it! GET THE HELL OUT NOW!" she had ordered, chasing everyone out of the area by threatening bodily harm if they didn't run as fast as they could… Nigel included...

Linna just needed a little time to get her composure back. She remembered being terribly embarrassed, but not exactly furious. She had made the mistake after all. Besides, she didn't really mind the fact that her feelings for Priss were out in the open at that point. Unfortunately she didn't feel that way for long…

Getting out of the hardsuit was a bit tricky, but she finally coaxed the metal apart and quickly put on her clothes before any of the others decided to check up on her again. Once dressed, Linna found the crumpled paper next to the hardsuit… the sheet she had taken from the apartment. She curiously began reading the scribbled lyrics on the paper… and her heart melted all over again. The song she was reading was written about her… her and Priss. It flowed through their early chance meetings and first days of being a Knight Saber, spun through the efforts of learning to work together, trudged through the trials of the accident and the heart-wrenching aftermath, then the discovery of needs, wants, and desires, and the drive to come together once again.

But as Linna recalled reading the lyrics, her despair deepened in the present… on the beach… in the now… As real as their relationship might have felt before she had read the song, it was gone the moment she finished the back of the page. For on the back was written the events from back home… through Priss' eyes… and the permanent damage done to the singer's heart as a result. That damning revelation crushed Linna's own soul all over again. Not only did it explain the depth of Priss' suffering, but it also explained why she was staying with Leon… and why Priss had been so adamant for her to leave.

The Knight Saber had turned her drawn out face towards the hardsuit and realized it was the last reason she was still here… the only reason to stay in Tokyo. There wasn't going to be anything else here for her anymore. Linna let the thin, crinkled page settle to the floor at her feet. Her strength soon left her legs as she collapsed to the ground, folding her feet under her suddenly weary body. She bent over and held her tired head in her hands, wishing for the world to just go away and leave her alone.

How long she stayed like that she couldn't remember now… but once more Nene was there to pull her from the depths of depression… almost the lone beacon pulling her in the final direction she needed to go to complete the insane task of stopping Galatea…

"Linna? Linna are you okay?" the young woman had asked with genuine concern.

"No. No, I'm not. But thanks for asking anyway Nene."

"Linna, I… I'm sorry about Priss. I should have told you before."

That had gotten Linna's attention long enough for her to realize what Nene must have known all along.

"When… when I talked with Leon the other day… he told me… he explained some things… things that happened. I should have just told you before you went out in the hardsuit, except, well… I just didn't think you'd do… well that you'd go find Priss… and… well…"

"It's not your fault Nene. But thanks anyway. I guess I've made my bed now, I just have to learn to sleep in it, that's all…" Linna realized now that Nene must have seen the paper and realized what had happened… or maybe they had used the pit surveillance camera's to spy on her some more. It really didn't matter to Linna anymore… she was numb to that type of pain now.

Linna recalled Nene's red face turned away from her own. "Yeah, well that's one way to put it I suppose. Um, Sylia wanted me to come ask you about doing some more testing later tonight if you don't mind."

"Sure. It's the only reason I'm still here anyway."

_…too much I can't forget..._

The heavy alcohol sloshed throughout her bloodstream, attempting to wring out the remaining vestiges of suffering from Linna's heart. However, just as the waves continued to soak the littered beach before her, bitter reflections continued to stain the former purity of her soul, its frail layers now forced to display a permanently dark hue for the rest of her life.

Those reflections waxed and waned through the events afterwards. That evening slipped into morning with Linna absently testing the new suit out while Nigel and Mackey worked on adjustments for hers and the other hardsuits. Linna noted that there were three other suits, and she had wondered if Priss might actually don one. She decided at the time that if the former Blue Knight were to take up the battle once more, it would likely be for only one reason… that reason was Leon McNichol. A pang of jealousy rang in her heart for just a moment, but Linna quickly pushed it aside, decided that particular emotion was definitely crying out in vain.

By the next evening, all the suits were as ready as Nigel could get them… and it had turned out to be just in time. Linna reflected on the gigantic serpent that had risen from the depths of old Tokyo on that night… and the battle that ensued… Sylia, Nene, and herself flying out to try and take it down… but even as Linna thought back to the battle, she realized the fire in her own soul wasn't burning as strong anymore… and that might have been the reason… the reason they had almost all died that night…

_…too much I can't forget..._

She had tried attacking first, but found herself tentative, unsure, wavering, not at all the same Knight that had swept through the mutating hordes earlier, driven from vengeful rage over Ginger's death… Nene's tried to help but her own confidence wasn't strong enough as both the Red and Green Sabers had been trapped by the overpowering beast. And then Sylia, forced to try and free them, unable to cut loose and eventually caught by the boomer as well… all three Knights at the mercy of Galatea's influence… hardsuits fusing with her growing reign of control…

Linna recalled resigning herself to fate… almost happy in a sense that her suffering would come to an end… but in that end her thoughts had turned towards her regrets… regrets of not fulfilling her parents wishes… regrets of not being able to spend another minute with Ginger… and finally regrets of not taking advantage of the time she had with Priss…the time to really get to know her… spend more time with her… time she would never have again. From those regrets, her heart had sang outward, resonating throughout the inhuman network beneath them… and somehow had found her shining Knight in blue armor.

She wasn't sure exactly how it happened, but she knew… she knew that Priss had heard her call and was coming to help. She could hear her voice almost as clearly as she was standing right next to her…

"Hang on Linna, just hang on a few more minutes"

P… Priss? Is… is that you?

"Yeah, just hang on. You can't die on me now damnit!"

O… okay… priss… i'll… i'll wait… wait for you… here… in my mind…

At first she had thought she could 'feel' Priss flying towards her, racing to save them all. But soon she lost that feeling. The Green hardsuit slowly sunk into the molten metal worm, its corrupting form molding the hardsuit into her skin. Then, Linna had thought for sure it had actually been death calling… and if Priss was waiting for her on the other side, then so be it. It wasn't until the ringing explosions shook her hardsuit that she realized it wasn't death calling after all.

_So much I want to remember…_

Through the improbable link they all seemed to share now, they were able to defeat the monstrosity. Linna watched in amazement as the large red motoslave emerged from the flames, wondering if… I wonder if it's Priss

"Of course it is. Who else would fly out here to save your butt"

But how… I didn't

"I'm not sure. I'm not talking either. Can Sylia or Nene hear?"

I… I don't think so. Weird…

The motoslave had transformed back into the familiar cycle they all knew, with Priss dismounting and walking over to Linna, continuing their wordless conversation.

"So why didn't you try and call me?"

Sylia asked, but… but I said no. I thought… I figured you would want to stay with Leon.

"Why does that sound like jealousy…"

Because of that song! I read the lyrics you wrote!

"Lyrics? You mean…"

I'm sorry if I sound like some kind of stalker, but I took that page after it got stuck to my hardsuit

"So you couldn't have talked to me about it?"

Why! It was quite clear exactly what you felt… you wrote it right on the paper!

"And you never asked me if I'd mind if you read it, did you!"

Go ahead. Tell me you didn't write those straight from your heart. Tell me that's not the way you feel. Tell me that's not why you made me leave when Leon came back to the apartment! Go ahead Priss!

"What is going on?" Sylia had finally asked, probably wondering why Linna had started to wave her arms around in an exaggerative fashion without so much as saying a single word.

"Nothing," Priss had answered evasively… and then withdrawn back into her shell.

Priss? Priss! Tell me… tell me Priss! But no answer was forthcoming from the reclusive singer. Linna could still sense some fragments of her thoughts, but couldn't make out exactly what she was thinking or why. At the time, Linna was pretty sure she knew why. Events of later in the evening did nothing to change her opinion…

_…too much I can't forget..._

The country girl wondered why she still cared… why she just couldn't forget about her petty emotions and concentrate on the daunting, nearly overwhelming task of taking down Galatea. Before Priss, maybe she could. Before the accident, perhaps. But not now… not after being rung out physically and emotionally like she never had before. Not even her knee injury back in high school and the tough recovery afterwards could have ever prepared the track star for what she would deal with as a Knight Saber.

She had reached out to them blindly, and for a while had fulfilled her dreams of helping others and of 'being' someone. But now, all those dreams had turned into the horrible nightmares of her new life in Tokyo… a life that had led to the death of so many innocent people… people that she had wanted to help… people that she couldn't save… all the faceless humans… men, women, children… and one in particular… Ginger… it all flowed over her battered mind like the vast ocean before her… swallowing up her being and drowning her consciousness in its endless guilt.

On top of that, above the fact she still had to try and stop the entity that had up until now run rampant over herself and the other Knight Sabers… she still longed for what she could not have… what may have been her curse from the very beginning. She couldn't turn off her heart no matter how much she wanted to. Even now, after downing all the alcohol she could get her hands on, she still thought of her, still thought of Priss, wondering how she was coping now, wondering if Leon was with her, wondering what if… what if they both somehow survived this… _This is CRAZY! Why! Why won't my heart let go? Why can't I let her go? Maybe…maybe I can't… I can't… please… please Priss… Just let me go Priss, please… please Priss, set me free… just set me free… _

"Is that what you really want?"

_What! Oh, Priss, sorry… I forgot… _

"Forgot that I can hear everything you're saying in your head right now?"

Linna turned her head around to see if she could see the person mentally spying on her. _How long have you been listening? _

"Just enough to know you want me to let you go. Funny, I didn't know I was holding you back."

_Just go Priss… leave me alone. _

"Kind of hard to do that since this little park is so small. You're starting to broadcast like a radio tower now that you're drunk."

_I am not drunk! _

"Maybe not yet… So, why do you want me to set you free anyway? I thought you wanted more from me?"

_Priss… Please, just go… _

"Why Linna? Why are you trying to hide from the rest of us now?"

_I just want to be alone right now, that's all, OK! _

A rustle from the trees just to her right spun Linna's head around into the spying eyes of Priss… who was just turning around to face a stumbling Leon.

"Hey Priss, why'd you walk through… _Linna_…" he paused, making the connection yet again between the two women.

Priss answered Leon's unfinished question nonchalantly, pretending that nothing was going on. "I just wanted to get away from the others for a little while. I didn't know she was over here."

The remark stung Linna even though she had doubts as to the truth of the spoken words. _You came to find me, didn't you _

The hint of a "yes" formed on the edge of Priss' mind before a roaming hand from the overly aggressive Leon distracted her.

"C'mon then, lets go find some 'space' to get lost in…" he whispered suggestively.

"Wait…"

The country girl wasn't going to let herself get in-between them now, not when they needed to concentrate on the present… not when she was still trying so hard to forget about the past…_ Go Priss. You two need some time together before… before we try and stop her anyway… _

The true meaning behind Linna's words rang in Priss' mind, but she couldn't look back now. There was only one path to walk now… and that path was likely on a one way journey into the mouth of hell… "…okay then, lets go," she said, turning around to face the tall man.

The couple shuffled around the edge of the woods and walked down the beach… out of Linna's dimming line of sight… into the growing darkness enveloping their wooded haven…

And as they disappeared into the darkening present, Linna's mind shifted back to the recent past… and the first time she found out just how close the couple really was…

_…too much I can't forget..._

Back at the Lady 633 building, a small celebration was in order. All the Knight Sabers were back in action after having just defeated the largest boomer they had faced to date. The other Sabers had paired off with their 'better' halves when the familiar sense of loneliness crept back into Linna's soul. She had found herself missing the company of Ginger terribly then… even while sitting on a couch right next to Priss. As she thought back to that time just a day ago now, she realized that was most of the reason right there… the woman she wanted more than anything… within arms reach… and yet seemingly a continent away.

With her thoughts still closed off to the country girl, Priss had gotten up and left the lounge with Leon a short time later with a tall bottle of wine in tow. Linna knew they hadn't gone far. It wasn't that she could hear their 'activities' in one of the guest bedrooms close by… she could almost 'feel' them. Thanks to the link she now shared with the singer, she knew much, much more than she ever wanted to about exactly how close they were now.

Linna found she could only take so much before she fled to the secluded rooftop, the metal, concrete and sheer distance finally silencing the background 'noise'. She had found it hard enough to deal with her lingering emotions, but this link… this damned connection that seemed to have something to do with the hardsuits at first… and now even haunted her outside of it as well… it was all just too much.

The brown-haired woman rubbed the back of her neck, her muscles tense, her spine sore, and through it all permeating a faint tingling sensation… very similar to…

On the beach a day later, even through the onrush of alcohol overload, it finally hit her… Linna now realized what must have happened. Something Nigel had said at the time she was first having the new hardsuit poured around her…

"_This interface is much different than the one you're used to… it feeds off of your thoughts directly, even helping to shape the outer shell itself. Be careful, it may take some time to get properly set…"_

Linna made the connection now. She had pushed the warning to the back of her vengeful thoughts at the time… but now, in hindsight… _the kiss… when I kissed her… that's when… I… damn… damnit, damnit, damnit… _

She fell back in the wet sand laughing hysterically. She laughed so hard her sides began to hurt… then she laughed some more. The maniacal laughter began to slowly morph… changing into crying fits of sorrow… self pity… _I've done it again… I did it to myself… all of it… all my fault… _

As she lay on her side, wracking emotions pouring out of her soul, the memories came once again… once again to prolong her suffering… Linna had woken on the roof, unsure of exactly when she had fallen asleep or what exactly had woken her in the first place. She was cold, the first hints of fall blowing over the rooftops of the abandoned buildings all around her… its silent darkness another mirror into her own heart at the moment. She remembered walking back to the elevator to find a jacket in case she needed to get some distance from and Priss and her 'boyfriend' for the rest of the night. The doors on the elevator had just opened when the first echoes of metal marching feet reached her ears. The sound of an approaching army sent shockwaves through her spine… and before the doors could close… they were there, on the rooftop, clamoring after her…

_…too much I can't forget..._

Events blurred for her after that. The doors had closed just in time, and she had made it down to the control room where everyone else had gathered. The boomers… the army of boomers marching into the building… alarms… the ground shaking… the pool… glass breaking… quickly donning the hardsuits again… fighting their way out of the pit… swimming up through the falling boomers… getting everyone to the roof… the sun rising… the city of Tokyo gone… swarmed over by Galatea's evil rule… _that wasn't even the worst of it though… _

Linna recalled standing above the mobile pit, riding through the destroyed desolated city of Tokyo… passing mutated boomers fused with abandoned cars… then passing by a certain tunnel… with the remains of a certain large vehicle coming into view… so many memories rushing back from the recent past… stumbling back from the recalled shock… trading places with a confused Nene… turning the back towards the memories, but the conscious not relenting its hold on those agonizing reflections of Linna's past stained with so much fresh blood…

…_too much I can't forget..._

"T… Twelve beers… an… and I still can't forget…" the defeated country girl told the sand in her clinched fist. She lifted her arm up and slowly let the sand bleed from her hand, it's uncountable grains falling like all of the lost souls slain by Galatea's rise to power… souls like the foreigner she couldn't give herself to no matter how much she might want to now… the foreigner she had turned away because of her hearts insistence on belonging to Priss… the one she had not helped during Galatea's mental assaults… the one she had scorned because of doubts… doubts as to if the singer had any true feelings for her at all… doubts that had persisted since the incident at the hospital… the incident that was borne from the accident… an accident that Linna now felt was all her fault anyway… _I should have trained harder… I should have been stronger… maybe I shouldn't have come back to Tokyo after all… maybe none of this would have happened… maybe… maybe… maybe I just need some more beer… _

Linna rose from the sand… and instantly regretted standing up. The whole world spun wildly for a moment before slowing to a more manageable pace. She turned her back on the glowing tower across the bay and slowly stumbled and staggered her way from the beach, through the trees, trying to find some small measure of relief from her own tortured memories…

_To be continued…_

A/N: One more part of this intermission to go. We've seen how Linna has (or hasn't) held up with events of the last two weeks, but what about the others… what about one person in particular who is very crucial to all the events currently bubbling just below the surface, ready to burst through the battle lines drawn across Tokyo bay…


	4. Part 4

AFA Intermission

Reflections – pt. 4

* * *

The couple broke the lengthy kiss, both breathless. The woman rested her back against the tree, her arms draped around the shoulders of the man who had supported her through the darkest of times. 

"So why did you go find Linna just now?" Leon asked, managing to once again ruin an otherwise good mood.

Priss frowned in the darkness, both from his timing and the subject matter. "What makes you so sure I was looking for her?"

"Do you really want me to answer that question?"

She paused, lost in thought for a moment. "No."

Leon thought back… thought back to the moment of finding his lover in Linna's arms… her eyes horribly over dilated, staring into the ceiling, unresponsive… he had rescued her from that hell… bringing her back to the surface… getting her discrete medical help… nursing her slowly back to health… only to have Priss run back to the Knight Sabers one more time, back to the woman named Sylia Stingray… and once more back into Linna's arms…

Leon pulled Priss into a tighter hug, hoping to block out the fears of losing his love to someone else. He silently laughed at himself though, thinking of how silly it really was to be worried about the future when it looked so bleak at the moment. The woman he loved more than anything in the world was about to take on the devil herself… a god among humans. He had seen enough evidence the last two weeks to convince him of the awesome supernatural power the Knight Sabers were about to charge head on… and he wasn't going to let himself assume there would be a tomorrow to worry about, not when he should be taking advantage of every precious moment he could right now. But despite his best efforts, another moment of jealousy came back instead, drawing his focus away from the woman resting against his heart.

* * *

Leon was sure he was dead. Too many boomers… not enough weapons… darkness settling in from the sky above… empty buildings only lit from the burning fires of resistance they were still vainly putting up. He'd never see Priss again… this was it… he was certain. The horde circled around his small group for the easy kill… 

A sonic scream drew his attention to the black sky overhead… a green streak plowed into the mutating masses in the distance… the whole world seemed to explode all at once…

The next thing he could remember was the distinct outline of a human form illuminated by the smoldering remains of the boomer army. As his recognition of the shape caught up to his brain, his heart stopped as one name came to mind… _…linna… _A few details on the hardsuit were different this time, but there was no mistaking the shape as anything other than the Green Knight Saber… the same one that had tortured his love deeply enough for her to teeter on the edge of madness.

She seemed to read his fears as the faceless visor turned in his direction. He could feel her eyes boring a hole through his chest as the Saber stared at him. Just as the ADP officer was beginning to plan which direction to run in case she turned on him next, the helmet shifted skyward as the hardsuit rocketed up into the night.

It had taken Leon a few moments to ponder where the Knight Saber might go next before he realized two things simultaneously… for one, he faced the direction that the Green Knight had just flown off in… the second, he recognized that direction to be straight for his apartment where Priss was still struggling to recover…

* * *

When Priss had finally opened the door, he could immediately tell something wasn't quite right. 

"Is everything okay?" he had asked anyway, in addition noticing her face was quite flushed.

"Yeah, everything's cool."

Just as he had stepped into the apartment, he heard the muffled sound of metal plodding on carpet from somewhere else in the apartment. "What's that?" he asked rhetorically, although he had a very good idea exactly what it was. Just as he had tried to take a step past a distracted Priss, she had reached out and grabbed onto his arm, holding him back.

"H… hey, where're runnin' off to so fast?" She quickly pulled him into a hug and held onto him tightly.

Another couple of louder bangs from within the apartment distracted both of them however. "There," Leon had answered simply, breaking away and hurriedly walking in the direction of the disturbance. He hadn't got very far… He had to stop at the site of the mess in the living room… Priss' music sheets strewn across the floor… guitar stand flipped on its side… "What the hell…"

But before Priss could answer, another sound drew his attention to the bedroom. He ran back at the noise that sounded ominously familiar… the sound of thrusters blasting off into the distance… away from an open window complete with a broken lock…

"Let me explain…" Priss had started behind him.

Leon didn't give her the chance. "She was here, wasn't she? Linna came here in her hardsuit." He turned around to face the singer… her eyes withdrawn, darting side to side…

"Yeah… she… she came to see me."

Leon burrowed his eyebrows at first, but let it out with a sigh as he took comfort in the fact that the Knight Saber was gone for now. "She didn't hurt you, did she?" He noticed a couple of strange expressions flashing across the singer's face as she rubbed her right side with her left arm.

"No, she… she just wanted to talk…" she had answered, her voice growing distant as she trailed off.

"Talk about what?" Leon asked sincerely before a dreaded thought came to mind. "Wait… Linna… did she ask you… did she want you to go back with them, the Knight Sabers?"

"No, she didn't ask."

"Then… then if it wasn't about the Knight Sabers…"

"She just wanted to come by and say hi."

"And I'm supposed to believe that?"

It was Priss' turn to be irritated now. She growled her displeasure but didn't vocalize her thoughts any further.

Leon drew notice, taking a step back. "Look, I'm sorry. Its just… well… what about that mess out there?"

"Hey! I wasn't exactly expecting her to just drop in like that! She scared the hell out of me."

"So if she was just saying hi… and she scared you so much… why try and hide it from me? What really happened?"

"We… talked… and… oh hell. Why do I really give a damn anyway…" Priss had said to herself, her face turned to the side before she snapped it around as she began screaming at the taller man. "See, I knew this would happen! I knew you'd get upset about this!"

"About what? Just tell me what happened!"

"She kissed me, alright! Are you happy now!"

All he could do was simply stare at Priss while she turned her eyes away from him and stared at the wall in turn It took him a couple of minutes to finally start talking again. "…um … and… anything else?"

"No."

"So… why did she leave?"

"Because… because when I heard you knocking… I told her she had to leave. I didn't want you to see her here."

"Why?"

"I… I don't know…"

Priss began to rub the back of her neck, stretching it out from obvious discomfort. Leon now realized it wasn't the last time she had done that. However, it was the first time she seemed to be preoccupied with the pain… at least as far as Leon could remember.

"…i …i don't feel so good," she had remarked, walking past him and lying roughly across the bed.

His concern for her health outweighed any other issues he might have had at the moment. He closed the window and sat on the bed with Priss' back turned towards him. He stayed like that, silent, until her breathing steadied out into the steady flow of rhythmic sleeping once more.

* * *

Leon's thoughts shifted back to the present, his mood softened by the feel of the woman he loved so close to him. "I don't know if you've noticed, but you're a much different person to be around when you're an active part of the Knight Sabers," Leon told the woman in his arms. One hand gently stroked the back of her hair while her ear rested against his heart. 

"How's that?" Priss asked, her voice resonating through his chest.

"You're more sure of yourself… more confident… almost like you know what you're doing with your life now."

"Funny. I have no idea at all what the hell I'm doing right now," she half-chuckled.

"I'm just glad you're doing it with me."

Priss wordlessly squeezed tighter onto Leon as she listened to the steady pulse flow through his body.

"I was worried that when you ran back to the Knight Sabers that I'd never see you again."

When Priss didn't immediately respond to his comment, Leon's mind flowed back to that time again just a short while ago…

* * *

She hadn't moved much in the last day, complaining of chronic headaches and continually rubbing the back of her neck. Leon had wondered if it hadn't been whiplash from turning around and finding Linna breaking into his apartment, although Priss had been pretty mum on the subject. In fact, they hadn't talked at all about it since the initial argument. 

Leon was in the midst of scrounging up some dinner after making yet another set of repairs to the generator on the roof. While putting together one of his not-so-fresh vegetable sandwiches, a high pitched scream sent the contents on the counter in front of him spraying onto the carpet as his arms flailed in response.

"Priss? Priss, what's wrong!" he yelled, running through the spilled mayonnaise and to the bedroom where she had fallen asleep again earlier in the afternoon. He found her sitting up in bed, her eyes wide open. Her breathing was rapid, but not panicked.

"Priss? Priss, are you okay?"

She didn't acknowledge him at all. Instead her focus appeared inward as her eyes narrowed into thin slits, forming a face he hadn't seen in weeks… a face full of grim determination. Her breathing slowed as calm control flowed down into a resolve visible throughout her body.

"Priss?"

Without looking up at him, she answered with a low, angry voice. "I have to go. They'll need my help."

"Go? Help? Priss, who are you… wait…" Leon recalled the painful thought of what she was likely talking about. "You're going back… back to the Knight Sabers…"

She finally looked up at him as her stance softened slightly. "Yeah. It… its hard to explain. I know what they're about to do. They're going to need all the help they can get this time."

"But how do you know they'll even have a hardsuit ready for you."

She smiled at him with an evil, seductive grin. "I just know… and it's more than just a hardsuit."

"And will it be a boomer like the last one?"

"Yeah, but it'll be _my_ boomer."

The next thing Leon could remember was holding on for dear life as Priss tore through the desolate streets of Tokyo. He thought he heard her encourage someone to "hang on", but somehow got the feeling it wasn't meant for him as she continued talking to herself. Her driving was erratic, sometimes making precise cuts and turns like a professional driver… while other times he wondered where her mind was as she nearly drove them right into a retaining wall.

Finally they reached the Lady 633 building, one of the few remaining buildings that still had power in the otherwise deserted city. Priss ran inside leaving Leon waiting at the front steps. He didn't even get a chance to ask her where he should stay before she was gone.

So as he just stood there, effectively guarding her bike from any boomers that might attack it. _Okay, I'm useless now _he had moped to himself. He wasn't protecting Priss any longer…

Just then a familiar looking blue hardsuit rode up atop a super heavy-duty cycle.

"Priss?"

The bike pulled up next to him, the visor raising up to reveal the smug face of his lover. Without saying a word, she grabbed his shirt with one hand and jerked him into a passionate kiss. When she finally broke the gesture, Leon was nearly out of breath.

"I've got to go."

"Priss," he called out to her, "… you'll come back… right?"

She looked at him with a very confident smile that he suspected was flowing from the armor she now wore. "I promise."

And with that, she tore off down the road and was gone from sight within seconds.

A few minutes later after staring at her invisible wake, a sound from behind spun the big man around into another familiar face.

"Would you care to join us inside? I've found that waiting with the company of others is much more tolerable than waiting alone."

Leon nodded to the man he recognized as Sylia's butler as he followed him inside the large building.

* * *

"Y'know I promised I would come back," Priss finally answered his question, breaking into his memories. 

After a short time, Leon let out a soft "…yeah…", his thoughts still swirling with worry over what she had fought against earlier… and what she still had to somehow find a way to defeat.

"What are you thinking about?" the singer asked while looking up into his distant eyes.

"What? Can't read my mind?" Leon instantly regretted his poor choice of words. He regretted it even more when his comments earned him another sharp jab in the ribs. "Owww… damn that hurts…"

"Keep it up jackass," she said, only half-joking.

Leon was all too aware of exactly why she wasn't kidding…

* * *

The men had all not so patiently waited in the lounge, greeting the victors with the finest wine Henderson could scrounge up. Leon couldn't help but notice the fact that Priss seemed to be ignoring the other brown haired woman in the room. When Priss took a seat on the couch while Leon stood next to her, Linna sat down on the opposite end of it apparently trying to stay close to her… or at least that's what his jealous self convinced him anyway. He tried to ignore her as well, but he had this strange feeling that the two of them were still communicating somehow… 

"How are your headaches now?" he asked, doing all he could to divert more of Priss' attention his way.

"Much better. It… its kind of like I was just missing part of me for some reason." Her explanation fell silent for a moment, as her focus appeared to turn inward.

Leon thought he saw Priss shoot a glare out of the corner of her eye in Linna's direction, but he wasn't sure.

Suddenly the singer leapt off the couch and grabbed onto his arm, pulling him towards the door.

"Hey, where are…" he started before he caught the seductive smile written on her lips. Priss picked up a very full bottle of wine on her way out of the lounge door.

Leon had finally learned to keep his mouth shut, and didn't say another word while he followed Priss into one of the spare bedrooms. This turn of events was much more than he could have ever hoped for just a day before. They hadn't been intimate with each other since her run in with Galatea in the dark underground of Tokyo. He had worried he might never see that side of Priss again before the boomer army finally crushed them all.

However, a much too short one hour later, he was lying happily exhausted on his back, a contented Blue Saber hugging tightly to his bare chest. Then in the midst of the afterglow, she had admitted something to him… something that made him doubt even the closeness he now shared with her…

"Y'know she could see us the whole time."

"She? Who, Sylia?" he asked, nervously peering around for likely surveillance camera spots.

"No. Linna"

"Linna?"

"Yeah. See… we… well… we can, kind of, read each others thoughts now."

_Just great _"She can read your mind?"

"I can stop her if I concentrate, but…"

"You weren't exactly concentrating on that just now..."

"No… and I know she… well… she knows what we did."

"Where is she now?"

"I think… Linna went to the roof."

"Uh oh… She's not going to jump, is she?" Leon asked with a chuckle.

"No. I don't think so anyway", Priss answered seriously. "She just wanted to get away from us. I don't think she realized how… close… we are."

"And how do you feel about that?"

Priss paused far too long for Leon's liking.

"I'm not sure."

* * *

The doubts in Priss' tone at the time lingered now into the present. Leon could still see the glowing tower through the thin line of trees above them, its unnatural hue stretching out its influence over the top of their natural shelter. It's long reach unnerved Leon as he clutched Priss tighter to his chest, hoping above all else that no matter what happen to them that they would somehow still be together… that he would still be able to spend more precious time with this person that he was only just now beginning to learn a little bit of.

_Fin_

A/N: Well, we're through with the intermission. Now it's on to Act II – _Falling from Grace_… how much more do Linna and the rest of the Knight Sabers have to go through to stop Galatea? More significantly, what has changed from the original 2040 timeline to this one and what will the repercussions be? All these questions will be answered soon… very soon…


End file.
